Rebecca Neef The essence of all beautiful art, all great art, is gratitude.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche

 “Like Nietzsche, I feel that truly beautiful art is a statement of gratitude for the privilege of viewing or experiencing what has been portrayed.”


“Whether I attempt to portray a landscape that moves me, the wondrous nuances of the human form and face, or the miraculous organic shapes and glowing colors of  the fruits and vegetables in a still life, I am making a statement of gratitude to have experienced a brush with these natural wonders of Creation.  If my works have merit or beauty, I give the credit to God for allowing me to see his creations as an artist sees."

Born in Austin, Texas, Rebecca Neef has been sketching and painting since early childhood.  Her decision to work toward a life as an artist was influenced in part by encounters with the work of a Texas regional landscape artist who worked with her father, and her neighbor, famed sculptor Charles Umlauf, as well as her mother's love of the arts.



Training:
With the exception of a few classes as a young teenager, Rebecca was a self-taught artist until recent years.  She credits many years of drawing, sketching, and painting from life with her progress, despite the lack of a formal art education.

After specializing in canine & equine portraiture for 15 years, with clients across the USA and in Europe and Canada, Rebecca retired from commissioned work, in order to focus on landscape and the still life, painting from life rather than from photographic reference, and studies with some of the country's top painters in these fields, including oil painters David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Gregg Kreutz, Robert Johnson, Joe Anna Arnett, Jean Chambers, and Tom Black, as well as pastelists Colleen Howe, Richard McKinley, and Denise LaRue Mahlke, among others.  She lists among her greatest living influences the artists David Leffel and Sherrie McGraw, and credits these living masters for changing the way she sees the world and portrays it.

Rebecca is also undertaking an intensive period of study of the human form, drawing and painting from the live model, both in group sessions and in her studio, as well as in study with David Leffel, Sherrie McGraw, Gregg Kreutz, and Robert Johnson.



Affiliations:
Rebecca Neef is a member of Oil Painters of America, The Austin Pastel Society, Central Texas Pastel Society, and the Lost Pines Artists Alliance. She lives in the countryside near Austin, Texas, with her husband and their numerous dogs.



Contact:
You may e-mail the artist at: jneef@austin.rr.com